Your mental health improves when you experience nature!
Ronald Buiting
Ecoloog
Ronald Buiting is an experienced ecologist specialized in nature-inclusive building and nature in the city. His agency is currently conducting baseline research on campus to investigate how we can further improve biodiversity. Over the next few years, the improvement plan will be rolled out incrementally and become a core part of construction and landscaping on campus.
Making the campus more nature-inclusive, how does that work?
'Our agency can very accurately determine how an area scores on characteristics such as temperature, water intake, insect density, animal and plant species and more. Based on that information, we can deploy targeted measures to make the campus more sustainable and livable. We also want to ensure a good connection to the natural environment, for which we are working together with the municipality of Rotterdam. We are designing a complete and well-thought-out plan for nature-friendly design and management. There is a big task ahead, but it is a good thing that the university sees biodiversity as an important theme for the coming years.'
There is already quite a lot of greenery on campus, isn't there?
'Not every tree or plant is equally useful in terms of biodiversity. There are now many non-native tree species on campus, such as the American oak. This is useful for 12 to 14 insect species in the Netherlands. A European pedunculate oak, on the other hand, can be used by more than 450 insect species. Therefore, when planting new trees and plants from now on, we choose native species. And by planting according to a nectar calendar, we can ensure that butterflies and bees have plenty of food from early spring to late fall.'
'Campus users have to accept that it will all look a little rougher than the smoothly mowed lawn and tightly trimmed hedge they are used to'
'Tightly mown lawns and trimmed hedges leave very little space for insects as their eggs are literally mowed away. Instead, it is better to sow native herbs and only mow or prune once or twice a year. This gives the seeds time to spread, so they can germinate again next year. Branches are not shredded but are used on the campus to provide a home for hedgehogs, for example. But campus users have to accept that it will all look a bit rougher than the neatly mown lawns and clipped hedges they are used to.'
Why is biodiversity important to students?
'A biodiverse campus is good for student wellbeing. People are happy when they see nature and experience the seasons; it's always fun to see animals. Your mental health improves when you experience nature. There is even a rule of thumb for this: the 3-30-300 rule. This means that you should always be able to see three trees from where you are, that there should be at least 30 per cent leaf cover in your neighborhood and that you need to walk a maximum of 300 meters to get to the nearest park or green space. There you can go for a walk or have a spontaneous meeting.'
'The campus also needs to be redesigned in the light of climate change. Measurements show that the experienced temperature could reach 50 degrees Celsius in the future. During heavy rainfall, the water would not be able to drain properly. We need to respond now by embracing the 'green unless' principle. This means that we will always design streets, squares, courtyards, roofs and facades to be green, unless it is not possible in a particular place because of the required functionality. This means nature will play a much more important role on campus and beyond.'